


Phone Calls

by becausecolours



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Suicide Attempt, sad stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-27
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-21 11:36:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/899837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becausecolours/pseuds/becausecolours
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with a phone call. "Severin, would you miss me?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Phone Calls

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Телефонные звонки](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002529) by [Fox_Thom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_Thom/pseuds/Fox_Thom)



The line crackled into Severin’s ear harshly, and for a moment he had to hold his mobile at arm’s length until the dissonant noise calmed.

“Would you miss me?”

The night sky held an eerie purple color, and while Severin was about as brave (or reckless) as they came, it was more than a little unnerving to be walking through a bad part of town and listening to a phone call that sounded like it belonged in a horror film.

“Sorry, Rich? My phone was breaking up a bit, didn’t hear you,” he explained, only half paying attention.

On the other side of the line a slight shift could be heard, as well as an intake of breath before a much too quick splutter of words tumbled out.

“Would you miss me?” Richard repeated.

Severin chuckled and rubbed his eyes, moving the phone from one ear to the other as he walked. He wasn’t great with picking up subtle emotional cues, never had been.

“To be honest, I’m missing you right now, bunny.”

It wasn’t the right thing to say, it was all wrong wrong wrong. But then, that fact became crystal clear only a moment later.

“That’s…that’s not what I meant,” Richard mumbled. His voice was too soft, even considering how he usually spoke. He was rarely hot-tempered, always trying to calm things down or help people relax, but his voice now just sounded deflated. Tired.

Overall, it sent a few main signals to Severin, the most important of which being that his bunny was in distress, and he needed to immediately find out why, so that it could be fixed.

“Are you alright? You sound off,” Severin said, looking ahead and trying to remember the fastest way back to their flat. The keening noises he could make out on Richard’s side of the phone made his stomach twist.

“I feel bad, Sev,” Richard whimpered. “I don’t think I’m very safe right now.”

“How bad on a scale of one to ten?” Severin asked, walking faster and darting his eyes out towards the street to look for a cab. Of course none of them were out this damn late. Bloody late night jobs. Severin hated being away from Richard this late at night.

“Ten,” Richard said. The receiver had gone quieter, no more sniffles or whimpers, which scared Severin—flat out fucking terrified him— far more than the noises before had. Noises meant that Richard was distracting himself and keeping himself occupied. The silence meant that he could have retreated back into the corners of his mind, or worse strayed towards the medicine cabinet and disposable razors in the bathroom again.

“Just stay on the line, yeah? Focus on something else,” Severin said urgently. When no response came, he pulled his phone away from his ear and stared down at the call screen where Richard had disconnected seconds ago.

If things were fair and good, Severin would have reached home five minutes later, out of breath but relieved to find Richard unharmed. But instead, he was back on his phone within minutes of arriving, having to explain as calmly as he could to the infuriating emergency services responder that no, he couldn’t find Richard’s pulse, and could they please for the love of god send an ambulance?

Hours later when he sat half-awake in the waiting room, Severin tried convincing himself that there was nothing funny about the surgery taking this long. Richard was special. Good people like him didn’t just die like this. They didn’t.

Right?


End file.
